The device of this invention has great utility in placing foamed material into excavations containing pipelines.
Many miles of pipelines are laid into excavations throughout the United States every year. The pipelines are utilized for carrying many varied materials, such as salt water, natural gas, crude oil, and the like.
For certain materials, there is a need to provide insulation on the pipelines in order to allow the materials therein to flow properly and without having to provide excessive pumping facilities and the like to convey such materials, as such facilities are costly. In addition, foam beds are laid in the excavation so that the pipeline has protection from the underlaying earth and debris.
Moreover, bags are filled with foam and used as pillows in the excavation under the pipeline in order to support and protect the pipeline. Finally, the foam is used as a “trench breaker”, that is a foam barrier laid across the excavation to stop the flow of dirt and water running down the length of the pipeline into wetlands and water bodies.
When used as insulation, the insulation provides protection from both extremely hot days and also for extremely cool days, especially extremely cool days in which the contents of the pipelines have a tendency to freeze up or at least greatly increase in viscosity such that they cannot be transported through the pipeline readily.
Means for providing insulation in the last couple of decades has been by way of the use of fibrous insulation materials wherein the pipelines were wrapped with continuous rolls of such insulative material and taped into place.
Later uses of insulation material included the use of foam that was placed into the excavation around the pipes. The prior art methods typically used were methods in which reactive foam ingredients were dispensed into a container and the contents of the container were virtually dumped into the excavation and smoothed or configured using shovels and the like.
The instant invention overcomes the prior art problems with foam insulation, protection, barrier properties for debris and water from entering wetlands, for pipelines.